Legal Protection of “Abdi Dalem” Employment Rights in the Yogyakarta Privilege System
The Special Region of Yogyakarta is known as a region with cultural distinctiveness and a unique government system, where the Yogyakarta Palace (Keraton Yogyakarta) remains a symbol of power and a cultural center. One of the important entities in the cultural and administrative structure of the Yogyakarta Palace is the “Abdi Dalem” - traditional employees who serve the Sultan. In the context of Yogyakarta's specialty, the “Abdi Dalem” act as custodians of cultural heritage as well as technical executors of traditional government. However, until now, the existence of “Abdi Dalem” has not fully obtained legal certainty regarding their rights as workers, especially in the aspects of wages, social security, and employment status. This research aims to analyze arrangements, practices, constraints, and formulate regulatory recommendations to strengthen legal protection of the employment rights of “Abdi Dalem”. The main objective is to develop a contextual and adaptive legal protection model, which is able to bridge the cultural values of the Palace with the fulfillment of workers rights properly. The method used is an empirical/sociological juridical approach, with data collection techniques in the form of literature review, field studies, and document analysis. Through this approach, it is hoped that a comprehensive understanding of the factual conditions of the “Abdi Dalem” will be obtained, as well as formulating legal formulations that are inclusive and equitable.
Keywords: “Abdi Dalem”, Yogyakarta Privilege System, Employment Rights, Labor Law,